Context awareness is a mobile device's acquisition of information describing an environment within which the mobile device operates, and utilization of that information in the mobile device's decision-making processes. For example, knowing the mobile device's context can assist determining if certain features of the mobile device are enabled or disabled. In a conventional mobile device, such as a GPS or mobile phone, context awareness can be very helpful, and even imperative at times.
To detect a context of being located in a motor vehicle, conventional mobile devices use only a microphone to detect an engine's presence. However, the conventional device's microphone and associated audio circuitry are often fooled by loud sound sources, which leads to an erroneous context determination and an erroneous context-based decision.
Accordingly, there are long-felt industry needs for methods and apparatus that mitigate the shortcomings of conventional methods and apparatus, including determining vehicle context awareness by detecting engine RPM using a motion sensor, and a mobile device that can accurately self-determine the mobile device's environment.